First impressions can be deceiving.

Take Ray Spencer, for instance.

Spencer, a 1949 graduate of Waite High School, may be 79 years old but he doesn’t sit around watching the grass grow. Back surgery – not even open heart surgery- can stop the 5-foot-6 Spencer from maintaining his passion for volleyball.

“I started playing after I retired in 1993,” Spencer said. “The East Toledo Family Center had a softball league and they asked how many people would be interested in playing volleyball. They had a sign-up sheet and I said yes. Me and a bunch of guys signed up around 1993 or ‘94.”

Spencer signed up to play with fellow Waite grads Warren Wright, who is now 81, Richard Takas, 73, and Don Clark - “He’s between 65 and 70,” Spencer said, “and he’s very good.”

They’ve been playing ever since.

“I enjoy the game,” Spencer said. “That’s why I play so much. I love to watch girls volleyball. I went to see Anthony Wayne play (recently). Back when we went to school, girls did nothing (athletically). Now you see them and they are so talented, you can’t believe it.”

Spencer competes for various senior-level volleyball teams at the Huntsman World Games, which are held each October in St. George, Utah. The competitors start in the 50-55 age group through ages 75-80.

Not even back surgery nor open-heart surgery could stop Ray Spencer's passion for playing volleyball. (Press photo by John Pollock) www.pollack.smugmug.com

“They have a beautiful building there, with 10 volleyball courts in one room,” Spencer said. “Just a fantastic building. The last year I was there, maybe three years ago, they had about 700 people there. They have 12,000 people for all the sports. I’ve played with an Illinois team, but four years ago I had open heart surgery and I didn’t play for a year or two. This past year I had back surgery, so I won’t be playing with them again.”

Spencer, who said he is “kind of quick” for his age, played for a team from Illinois that won a senior division title about five years ago at the University of Pittsburgh.

“There are senior leagues all over the country,” Spencer said. “In each age group they have a state championship. That championship team goes to play in the World Senior Olympics every two years. The site rotates every two years.”

Spencer is one of more than 20 senior men and women who play volleyball for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday morning at the Rossford Recreation Center. Other local players who compete at Rossford each week include Takas, Charlotte Harris and Ray Bihn from East Toledo, Norb Heban and Joe Baranski from Rossford and Waite grad Greg Aubell.

“We have about six women who play, and most of them are real good players,” Spencer said. “Our oldest guy is Warren Wright and our youngest guy is probably 50. The 50-year-olds can cover a lot of ground, so we divide the sides up talent-wise. We know what each player can do. It’s usually pretty competitive. We try to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played – pass, set, hit. It gets pretty intense at times.”

Spencer, Takas and other local seniors have also participated in the Senior Olympics. Spencer said his group has competed at Senior Olympics events in Toledo, Lima, Columbus, Youngstown and Dayton.

“We’ve done pretty well,” he said.

Spencer and his buddies have also gone to local high schools the past several years to scrimmage varsity girls teams.

“Rich Takas started that,” Spencer said. “We started maybe 10 years ago over at Waite and then we went to Northwood a number of times. Last year we played Waite and two of their main players were missing. I think we beat them three games and they beat us two. I think we beat Northwood a couple times, but I can’t remember. We’re still going to try to scrimmage Waite this season.

“Last year we had a scrimmage set up with Monclova Christian, but they canceled. We scrimmaged Northwood a number of times a few years ago. Their coach, John Stover, used to play with us when we played at the South Toledo YMCA.”

Stover, 59, who is in his fifth season as Northwood’s head coach, said he played with Spencer’s crew back when he was in his 40s. Stover remembered scrimmaging the Rangers, then coached by Brad Morrison, three or four times a year.

“My daughter, Julie, played for Brad and these old guys would come in and they were very good,” Stover said. “It was a surprise to the girls that these guys could play volleyball so well. Rich Takas asked if we could scrimmage them this year, but we haven’t been able to work it out yet.”

Stover has a warning for high school volleyball teams looking for a match against the old-timers.

“For their age, they’re good,” he said. “They know where to put the ball. They take it seriously and they play volleyball the way it’s supposed to be played. These guys set the ball and pass the ball and use their hits – and they’re real tricky on where they place the ball.”

Experience does count for something.

Not back surgery nor open-heart surgery could stop Ray Spencer’s passion for volleyball. (Press photo by John Pollock/www.pollock.smugmug.com.)

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